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The corporate face of legalizing pot has arrived in Oregon.

For years, Stanford
has been the face of the drive to legalize marijuana in Oregon, the man
who may have done more to push for lawful pot than anyone else in the
state.

But in a video announcement, Stanford conceded that his latest petition drives would fail.

His measures would
have allowed adults 21 and over to smoke marijuana legally and possess
as much as 24 plants and 1.5 pounds of dope. But as the July 3 deadline
for turning in signatures raced toward him, Stanford said in an online
video message that he didn’t have enough money to collect the 87,213
signatures needed for one of his measures and the 116,284 needed for the
other.

“We do not have the wherewithal to move forward and qualify for the ballot,” Stanford said.

There remains another
measure out there, Stanford said, one that would make marijuana legal,
but with more restrictions. “I liked ours better,” he said, “but the big
multimillionaire funders out there didn’t.”

The
big money Stanford referred to includes billionaire George Soros, the
heirs of late Progressive Insurance co-founder Peter Lewis, and other
rich backers across the country. That money is flowing to a measure
pushed by New Approach Oregon that appears headed for the November
ballot.

Stanford’s retreat—in
the face of what may be a big victory for advocates of legal pot this
fall—marks a major change in the way Oregon and the nation are preparing
to debate the issue.

Supporters of
legalized marijuana found a way to win in 2012, with victories in
Colorado and Washington state. Importing the same successful strategy
here meant there was no room for operators like Stanford, whose
campaigns often raised more questions than they answered.

“Why not yield to the
team with a winning rate?” asks Allen St. Pierre, executive director of
the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. “Even if
some of us hold our nose and endorse their measures, even flawed, they
have allowed for a baseline. You can build on that baseline.”

Oregon was the first
state, in 1973, to decriminalize marijuana, making possession of small
amounts punishable by a fine. Oregon voters have been asked to legalize
pot more often than in any other state—and have always answered no.

Stanford declined to
be interviewed for this story. Of the 17 initiatives put forward since
1998, Stanford has run eight campaigns and made the ballot once.

Stanford has also
been beset by financial and legal problems, which have clouded his
broader message. Stanford, who operates a nationwide chain of medical
marijuana clinics, pleaded guilty to tax evasion in 2011 after a long
history of trouble with the IRS.

His top contributor
this year is the Foundation for Constitutional Protection in Austin,
Texas. The group has been shut down twice by Texas authorities for
failing to file tax returns. This year, the foundation gave Stanford
$89,500. (The group has given nearly $700,000 to Oregon pro-pot
campaigns in the past five years.)

“The big money is not
and will not come into states where they perceive the local advocates
are too counterculture for their tastes,” St. Pierre says. “You had
better have very clean books, very clean hands.”

In 2012, Washington
state’s campaign brought in $6.3 million, including $2 million from
Lewis and another $1.7 million from Soros-backed Drug Policy Action. In
Oregon, the campaign has raised $1.7 million and hasn’t even made the
ballot yet. At least $1 million of that has come from funders of the
Washington measure.

Morgan Fox, spokesman
for the Marijuana Policy Project, which spent $1 million to help
Colorado legalize the drug in 2012, says voters respond better to
messages that emphasize strict regulation when they don’t know what an
emerging industry will look like.

“People who are
serious about reform realize it’s unlikely voters are going to make it
as legal to buy as a tomato,” he says. “We approach the issue from a
more traditional standpoint in terms of regulation.”

If the New Approach
Oregon initiative becomes law, marijuana sales like those in Washington
would require the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to license
recreational dispensaries and tax the sale of weed. No one under 21
could purchase pot, and it would still be illegal to drive while under
the influence of the drug.

New Approach, like
its predecessors, have emphasized law enforcement and tax revenue says
Brian Vicente, a lawyer who has worked with campaigns and governments on
the regulation of marijuana.

“We need to play by
mainstream rules to get your message out there,” Vicente says. “We
talked about regulation and taxation. That differs from some of the
messages prevalent in the movement for 40 years, which were focused on
personal freedom and the right to get high.”

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